Fallon N.Y. Gives Freddy More Media Exposure

NEW YORK Freddy, SoBe's quirky and enthusiastic spokesperson, makes the jump from radio spots to outdoor and a Web site in the latest campaign for the PepsiCo brand by Fallon.

Six outdoor boards feature colorful paintings that seem to have been drawn by a childlike hand. One shows a motorcyclist flying over a large crab and a picture of SoBe's Courage drink. Another for SoBe Green Tea shows a man meditating on a cloud and two birds carrying a banner saying, "He likes it!"

All executions by the New York shop carry the URL for a Web site, picturesbyfreddy.com, which seems to be scrawled by hand. The Internet venue appears crudely made and features more artwork "by Freddy" as well as a link to SoBe's official Web site.

Previous radio spots featuring Freddy broke around this time last year. About seven ads, targeting teens and twentysomethings, are rolling out this month. Each features Freddy, who calls himself "the official spokesperson for SoBe" and has an unidentifiable foreign accent, espousing the benefits of different SoBe beverages.

"Sometimes you may be feeling out of whack, like a haircut when the bowl is crooked," Freddy states in one. "Have some SoBe Green Tea with ginseng and suddenly everything is more balanced and you start to feel warm and fuzzy."

"The campaign hasn't changed much in terms of featuring the products we want to feature," said Fallon executive creative director Ari Merkin. "The only change is the addition of the pictures. [Freddy] has been an unknown artist. His skills as an artist have been under-leveraged."

The Web site was developed in order to create "viral buzz" around the brand, Merkin said. The agency plans to make Freddy's artwork available for downloading so consumers can apply it to canvases such as skateboards or T-shirts

"We're providing the tools we can to seed Freddy's artwork into the culture and build more buzz about SoBe," Merkin said.

NEW YORK Freddy, SoBe's quirky and enthusiastic spokesperson, makes the jump from radio spots to outdoor and a Web site in the latest campaign for the PepsiCo brand by Fallon.

Six outdoor boards feature colorful paintings that seem to have been drawn by a childlike hand. One shows a motorcyclist flying over a large crab and a picture of SoBe's Courage drink. Another for SoBe Green Tea shows a man meditating on a cloud and two birds carrying a banner saying, "He likes it!"

All executions by the New York shop carry the URL for a Web site, picturesbyfreddy.com, which seems to be scrawled by hand. The Internet venue appears crudely made and features more artwork "by Freddy" as well as a link to SoBe's official Web site.

Previous radio spots featuring Freddy broke around this time last year. About seven ads, targeting teens and twentysomethings, are rolling out this month. Each features Freddy, who calls himself "the official spokesperson for SoBe" and has an unidentifiable foreign accent, espousing the benefits of different SoBe beverages.

"Sometimes you may be feeling out of whack, like a haircut when the bowl is crooked," Freddy states in one. "Have some SoBe Green Tea with ginseng and suddenly everything is more balanced and you start to feel warm and fuzzy."

"The campaign hasn't changed much in terms of featuring the products we want to feature," said Fallon executive creative director Ari Merkin. "The only change is the addition of the pictures. [Freddy] has been an unknown artist. His skills as an artist have been under-leveraged."

The Web site was developed in order to create "viral buzz" around the brand, Merkin said. The agency plans to make Freddy's artwork available for downloading so consumers can apply it to canvases such as skateboards or T-shirts

"We're providing the tools we can to seed Freddy's artwork into the culture and build more buzz about SoBe," Merkin said.